Homily for Palm Sunday, Year A

“The Master Has Need Of Them”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for Palm Sunday, Year A

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Sunday, April 2, 2023

On every Palm Sunday, two Gospel readings are proclaimed to us. Today, my focus is not on the Passion narrative but on the Gospel proclaimed just before the procession with palms. In that Gospel (Matthew 21:1-11), we are told that Jesus sent two of his disciples into a village to bring him “an ass tethered, and a colt.” He also told them, “…if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The Master has need of them.’” Allow those words “The Master has need of them” to sink in. Every baptized person should say to himself or herself, “The Master has need of me.” After all, baptism is a character sacrament. When a young man entered the Roman army, he was branded with a “character,” and the brand marked him as a member of the Roman army. In some tribes in Nigeria, when a child is born, he or she is branded in a unique way indicating the tribe he or she comes from. So, when a baby or an adult is baptized, they receive a brand, a character, that says, “I belong to Christ. The Master has need of me; my whole life is about him, not about my projects and plans.” 

Now, when it comes to need, don’t get it twisted. God does not need anything. God is the Lord of the whole universe. God is the sheer act of being itself. God is the creator of all things. So, God does not need anything, and does not even need our very existence. God does not need our good works. God can accomplish what he wants on his own, however, God delights in allowing us to cooperate with his providence. The most enduring truth is that God can accomplish anything on his own. None of us was there when God laid the foundation of the earth. None of us gave him counsel or aided God in any way. So, God can accomplish anything he wants without our aid. But he delights in letting us participate in his plan and purpose. Actually, it is a unique privilege for us. St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the dignity of causality, which means that we can act as instruments or secondary causes for God’s purpose. In the strict sense, God does not need us, but he needs us in the sense that he wants to draw us into his work. Once we get this fact, once we understand this principle, everything in our life will change dramatically. 

Usually, we think that the talents, capacities and abilities we have belong to us for the purpose of making our life better and more accomplished. We think we can do whatever we want with them. But then, those natural endowments we have are gifts, not things we earned or deserved. They are given to us by God so that God can use them for his salvific purposes. If you are an academically brilliant person, you did well in school, you have got advanced degrees, you are articulate and can get things done, have you ever asked yourself the question, “how come I can get things done?” “How come I am so smart?” Why do I have such capacities? Here’s the answer: it is to serve Christ and his purposes. So, give your great mind to Christ that he meant use it. Great saints like Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Pope John Paul II etc. gave their great minds to Christ. They used it to serve Christ’s purposes. They knew that the Master had need of their minds. If you are really good with people, you are the sociable type, people are fond of you and you are popular with the people, you can use your popularity and likability in a superficial way to serve your own purpose, or you acknowledge that what you have is a gift from God and then allow God to use you to accomplish something greater than showing off. You can give it back to the Lord. You can use that gift to be an evangelist. You can use that gift to serve the needs of others. If you are good at organizing events, making phone calls, making delicious meals, speaking effortlessly and being able to convince people, give it to Christ. Allow him to use your gifts to further his kingdom. If you have the gift of courage, don’t just use it to defend yourself. In fact, it is properly a gift when it is used to serve the other, the little ones of Christ. Christ gave you that gift so that you can use it for his purposes. Look at the saints up and down the centuries who were called to do dangerous and difficult things. Think about St. Alphonsus Liguori who gave up his law profession and career, became a priest so as to serve the poorest of the poor. Think about the marvelous courage that enabled him to do what he did. That courage you have, that academic prowess of yours, that ability to accomplish what others can’t etc. has not been given to you for your advancement. It has been given to you because Christ wants to use it to do sometimes dangerous and difficult work. If you are a good teacher, maybe Christ wants to use your teaching skill to teach young people our faith. If you have profound sympathy for the poor, something that not everybody has, maybe Christ gave it to you because he wants you to give it back to him in the service of the poor. Trust me, the way you look at our life will radically change if you allow this principle to sink in— the Master has need of it.  

Check this out, everybody! It would have been a different story if the owners of the animals had refused to give them up. Interestingly, the Gospel did not give us their names. But does it matter? What matters is that they were kind enough to let Jesus use their much valued animals. And by so doing, they contributed something that enabled Jesus to ride into Jerusalem and complete God’s assignment for him. Mind you, it is this accomplishment that has brought us victory in Christ, friendship with God, grace in the Spirit, salvation through faith and accompanying good deeds. 

Let me wrap up by focusing on these words of the Lord, “untie them and bring them here to me.” A tethered animal is stuck; it is in one place and can’t move. The sad news here is that there are many people who are tethered. They are tied to the goods of this world, to their own projects and plans. They are tied to their own petty reputation, ego and pride. They are tied to wealth, power, honor and pleasure. They are tethered and tied to these things. It is therefore amazing that two of the Apostles of the Lord came and untied these animals. The grace of Christ wants to untie us and set us free from these attachments that we have so as to be of service to him. When you serve the Lord Jesus Christ, it is not a kind of servitude or enslavement. In fact, it is a liberation. So, on this Palm Sunday, identify with these animals. Look at your whole life and say, “The Master has need of it,” and then give your life over to him. 

God bless you and welcome to Holy Week!